Doing the heavy lifting┬áAs Keith Regan details, Manitex International is using operational excellence and its penchant for innovation to drive into new markets around the world.  Thanks to a strategic mix of innovative product rollouts and targeted acquisitions, Manitex International has become a leading manufacturer of specialty engineered lifting equipment, a major player in the heavy lifting niche of the $110 billion US industrial machinery sector.

The right connection┬áNew power sources and the need to renew the infrastructure add up to good prospects for MSE Power Systems, Ruari McCallion learns from CEO Mark Scher. When the countryÔÇÖs electrical transmission infrastructure was established, windmills were something Don Quixote tilted at. However, the new generation of wind turbines is making a contribution to local and regional power grids from California to Maine.

The right lion┬áFlorida-based Lionstone Development may well be the leading residential and hospitality developer in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as its home state. Ruari McCallion has been sampling what it has to offer. The landscape of Miami seems to be constantly changing, and itÔÇÖs hard to find any building that can truly be described as a landmark in an area where so much is eye-catching.

Growing globally┬áKeith Regan finds out how Landing Trail PetroleumÔÇÖs evolution in the oil and gas industry has been based on attention to detail and keeping customers satisfied whatever service is being delivered.  Landing Trail Petroleum was founded as a provider of basic maintenance services to companies that own and operate oil and gas wells in the northern portion of CanadaÔÇÖs Alberta province.

Above and beyond underground┬áKinross Gold Corp. recently began production again at its Kettle River site in Washington State. Keith Regan reveals how a long-stalled project got jump-started, and the people to do the work were close at hand when they were needed.  Kinross Gold Corp. controls a far-reaching network of active mining and exploration operations not only in North America but in Russia, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador.

Rough terrain, smooth resultsRebuilding the Trans-Canada Highway through Kicking Horse Canyon in British Columbia posed more than its share of engineering and construction challenges. As Keith Regan learns, the project has proven to be rich with opportunities as well.  The stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through Kicking Horse Canyon in British Columbia has long had its share of safety problems. The highway cuts through a steep canyon, with sheer rock walls towering over the roadway in some places, creating significant rockslide hazards.

A healthy dose of lean┬áHotel Dieu Grace Hospital used value stream mapping and other lean techniques to transform its emergency room, and now it is looking for even deeper changes, as Keith Regan reports.  Not long ago, the emergency room at Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital (HDGH) in Windsor, Ontario, was a study in inefficiency. Given its downtown location and proximity to the border, the ER can be a very chaotic place. Patients endured long waits to be seen by doctors and nurses and often became angry as a result.

Unashamedly up-market┬áThe Harp Group brings experience and focus to its strategy of high-end hospitality development and investment, Ruari McCallion reports. The Harp Group is the sort of company that observers (and competitors) make notes about; it has made quite a bit of noise since it appeared on the scene in 1997. Founder and company president Peter G.

Smoothing troubled waters┬áOne year on from its inception, steel trading giant Coutinho & Ferrostaal has integrated all elements of its merged identities and weathered the steel price storm. John Foster, COO of the US arm of the business, talks to Gay Sutton about the first year in operation. It was an interesting year for steel; it began with soaring prices, continuing consolidation in the market place and fierce competition.

Blowing hot and cold┬áBill Murdy explains to Gay Sutton how Comfort Systems, already the largest commercial HVAC company in the US, is expanding and moving into new markets. When the going gets toughÔÇöand thereÔÇÖs no denying the economic climate is very tough at the momentÔÇöit helps to be in a business that is essential to modern-day living, and that is exactly what Comfort SystemsÔÇÖ business is.   ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre not building anything anymore that isnÔÇÖt heated, ventilated and air-conditioned,ÔÇØ says chairman and CEO Bill Murdy.